Friday ~ The Law of Detachment

The sixth spiritual law of yoga is the Law of Detach­ment, which reveals a great paradox of life. In order to acquire something in this world, you have to relinquish your attachment to it. This doesn’t mean you give up the intention to fulfill your desire—you simply give up your attachment to the outcome.

Attachment is based on fear and insecurity. When you forget that the only genuine source of security is your true self, you begin believing that you need something outside yourself in order to be happy. You may believe that a certain amount of money in the bank, paying off the mortgage on your house, obtaining a luxury car, losing ten pounds, or purchasing a new outfit may result in greater feelings of security within yourself. Unfortu­nately, whenever your happiness is based upon something other than your true Self, insecurity arises because you know at a deep level of your being that whatever is bring­ing you happiness can be lost and therefore has the potential to bring you pain.

According to the principles of yoga, the only true security comes from your willingness to embrace the unknown, the realm of uncertainty. By relinquishing your attachment to the known, you step into the field of pure potentiality in which the wisdom of uncertainty is factored into all your choices. Practicing detachment and embracing uncertainty, you relinquish your need to hold on to the past, which is the only thing that is known. Being open to what is happening rather than trying to control how things unfold, you experience the excite­ment, adventure, exhilaration, and mystery of life.

Applied to your practice of yoga, the Law of Detach­ment encourages you to relinquish your attachment to an idealised pose. Rather than seeking only to achieve the perfect posture, have the intention for your practice to awaken deeper and more expanded levels of awareness within you. By relinquishing your attachment to an ideal­ised form and allowing your awareness to embrace the essence of yoga, your body will naturally release its resist­ance, increase its flexibility, and will improve as a side benefit for your detachment.

Yoga is not a competitive sport and you will not achieve integration of body, mind and spirit through force and effort. Rather, yoga is a system of mindful surrender.

The practice of yoga accomplishes its goal of union through attention and intention—through the conscious release of conflict and struggle. This is the essence of the Law of Detachment. Have your intentions clearly in your awareness while you maintain an attitude of Thy will be done. The coexistence of these apparently contradictory forces—intention and detachment—cultivates the flexi­bility that enables you to fulfill all your goals in life.

Put the Law of Detachment into effect in your yoga prac­tice and in your life by making a commitment to the following three steps:

Practice detachment. The goal of yoga is flexibil­ity, for which detachment is an essential feature. Detachment and flexibility go hand in hand. Attach­ment breeds rigidity. Commit not to rigidly impose your ideas of how things should be. Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be natural. Notice that when you force solutions on problems, you often create new problems that did not previ­ously exist. Remind yourself to engage in everything with detached involvement.

Embrace uncertainty as an essential ingredient of your experience and watch how creative solutions to problems spontaneously emerge out of chaos. Cultivate an attitude of curiosity and innocence as you live your life and notice how a deep inner security develops within you, independent of things around you.

Surrender to the field of pure potentiality. Com­bine your focused intention with detachment from
the outcome and observe how easily you are able to fulfill your desires while maintaining your center, even in the midst of confusion and turbulence

To awaken the energy of the throat chakra Law of Detachment to remind you to relinquish your need to control, thereby allowing creative solutions to emerge from the wisdom of uncertainty.

Chakra ~ The Law of Detachment, resides in the fifth chakra, Vishuddha. When the throat is clear, we are able to effortlessly express our authentic self without the need for approval or fear of disapproval. We are confident that our words and actions are in alignment with evolutionary forces and while being clear on the desired consequence relinquish our rigid attachment to a particular out come.

Asana ~ Bridge, Shoulder Stand, Fish and Chanting.

Deepak Chopra ~ “When we embark on the spiritual journey in earnest, it is normal for our mind to want to know how long it will take to awaken and experience higher consciousness. Keep in mind that to be rigidly attached to the idea of arriving at the destination takes away from the joy and spontaneity of the journey. The search for the certainty of timetables and outcomes comes from our limited ego self, not our unlimited self. If we surrender to the wisdom of uncertainty, we remain open to the wonder of the process and resist the clutches of the ego’s need to control by knowing the outcome. The art of spiritual evolution is to enjoy the process as we continue to grow.”

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I've tried a number of different yoga classes over the years and having experienced Julia's classes would never go anywhere else. Many of the classes I've been to have been about exercise and who can be the most bendy! Julia's classes are a completely different experience - she encourages you to really listen to your body and to do what is right for you. Julia's natural warmth creates a feeling of calm, space and time in her classes - I always leave feeling re-engergised in body and mind ... Rachael